Sweetness at the End of the World
by SabellaX
Summary: 10k never expected he would see his best friend again at all, let alone alive. She makes the trip to California easier, with her sharp mind and optimism. All she needs is to learn how to defend herself. Until then 10k knows he can protect her. At least, he thinks he can. It's tough though, when she keeps distracting him. Are all best friends this cuddly? Is it bad that he likes it?
1. Naive Beginnings

Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she gazed at the morning sky. Her mama used to say a pink sunrise was a good omen. Looked like today was going to be a good day.

Eliza dug her hands into the dirt, pulling some carrots that had been regrown from the tops about a dozen times. Her mama always said good people had a talent for bringing dead plants back to life. That plants fed off your soul as much as they fed off the earth. Before the outbreak, people always gave Eliza dying plants as presents, because she was the best in town at bringing back the dead.

Eliza looked over her garden, green and thriving, and knew that her people could feed themselves, and anyone else that came by.  
Some of the survivors talked about the Black Summer, how so many people starved. She wished they would have found their camp instead. They had enough food to feed an army. Always had. They could feed themselves, and anyone else that came by.

Not that anyone ever did, these days.

The sign on the gate needed re-painting, "Information, Seeds, and Food, No Guns Allowed." only the e's were fading, which was strange, but strange had become pretty relative due to that whole living dead thing. The re-painting wasn't particularly important, considering they were 980 meters up a mountain surrounded by walls and traps with a steep winding trail in between their camp and civilization, but she liked the monotony of painting. She especially liked painting signs, imagining someone she knew would recognize her handwriting and come to the camp to see her.

The very large dog walking beside her huffed angrily and turned towards the livestock enclosure. Eliza heard a low, unnatural snarling as she headed towards her rabbits.

"Goddamn apocalypse. Not another outbreak." She sighed and piked one of the rabbits and dragged it out with her steel bar, and threw it towards Bones who dug right in, snarling. She threw a second cage over the other newly Z'd rabbit. There were tests to be done. No point wasting a captured Z, right?

She patted Bones neck as he ambled back over to her, careful to avoid touching his head. "You're a good boy, aren't ya? Keeping me safe." All the other rabbits were healthy and happy. The town could definitely have meat tonight. She wished she could preserve it, instead of eating everything live. She used to love preserving fresh kills.

As she walked towards the makeshift town center, ravens circled overhead. They were tame now, and smarter than their dogs. Seems the living has to stick together, regardless of species. They were calm that day, which meant no Z's were trying to breach the perimeter.

"Eliza!" She heard Amy before she saw her round the corner. "They might be sending a group down the mountain to try and make radio contact! One of the outsiders said there's still NSA presence, and they broadcast on every frequency."

Eliza blinked. "That's great."

"Aren't you excited? Maybe… maybe we could get some help up here. Finally get a group down to the ocean, get some more salt. We're only good for another year." Amy grinned, breathless.

"A year is a pretty long time." Eliza thought about how much salt they consume, how much they had saved and scavenged.

"I think I'm going to volunteer."

"What!?" Bones jumped at Eliza's shrieking, so she patted his neck. "That's ridiculous. We have everything we need up here. Eventually they'll find a way to fix the phone line, or maybe we'll find a hotspot, you don't need to-"

"I'm going."

"You could die Amy. Why risk it?" Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, she couldn't lose anyone else. Death, carnage, teeth and Z's everywhere, her breath hitched.

"Maybe our mom's still alive down there."


	2. You Won't Believe This False Hope

"Hey kid, you feeling alright? You look a little… off."  
10k raised an eyebrow at Addy.  
"Sorry, it's just… you don't look quite as distant as usual? Does that make sense? I just wanted to check and see if you were okay." She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 10k seemed like the type to get uncomfortable at too much attention.  
10K raised his sniper, surveying their surroundings. For a good moment she thought maybe he wouldn't say anything. She supposed that was okay too.  
He cleared his throat. "I lived near here. Before… everything."  
She nodded solemnly. "I totally get it. If you need to sit this one out-"  
"No."  
Addy jumped and his unusually harsh tone.  
"They deserve mercy. More than most."  
Addy caught the anger that flashed across 10k's face. She missed the agony.  
They were quiet the rest of the drive to Ridgewynd.

~~~

Eliza was uncomfortable in the stiff backed chair. She was nervous being away from Bones, but the others in town were a little nervous around him. She didn't blame them. There was something eerie about Bones, the way he never whimpered or barked, how his eyes watched with an almost human intelligence. He waited outside while she was in her meeting, she couldn't get him to stay home, and honestly? She was glad for it. Another excuse to get this stupid meeting over faster. It was stupid she was up at the front anyway. She didn't know anything about guns, or fighting, or leadership. She was just... really good at reading. The previous historian had really liked her, made her an apprentice, and when he passed away... there was no one else who could (or maybe would) take on the position. As the historian, Eliza had a seat on the council but she tried to avoid weighing in on decisions.

The seven other council members sat at the front of the room.

Waiting.

It looked like everyone in the camp showed up. Even with 88 people in the rarely used conference room, it was dead silent. No one liked to be crowded. Too much could go wrong.

Carlos cleared his throat. "This is a trip we need to make. Depending on what we can salvage, we may be able to give ourselves two more years of self-sufficiency. We only need to send seven or eight people-"

The crowd erupts.

"We need the labour! We can't afford to spare anyone!"

"We need to contact the outside world, we're going crazy stuck up in this town!"

"Who will we send? We only have a dozen guns left."

"My son is still down there! I'll go!"

"It's suicide! Whoever we send will die!"

The councilors try to calm the panicked crowd, but they weren't unified, and the crowd picked up on their uncertainty. Clearly they hadn't discussed this issue earlier, because the councillors were each answering the questions differently, angrily, yelling over each other.

"Eliza, say something!"

The crowd quieted to furious murmuring. Due to her usual silence, some of the townsfolk seemed to think she would give better advice, which was not at _all_ why Eliza spoke so rarely.

"Um… well… According to the outsiders, we have it a lot better than most survivors. Longer life expectancies, fresh food and water, medicine." She paused, glanced down at her sister, whose eyes burned with rage. Eliza took a breath, trying to collect herself.

"But, maybe we need to make contact, not to help ourselves, but to help other survivors. If we could share our methods, maybe our community could become the norm, instead of exceptional."

She glanced down at Amy and smiled.

"Maybe we could save lives."

After a few more minutes of angry muttering and the occasional shout, the other seven at the front gave their opinions and cast their votes. It was a three five split.

They were going to the ground.

~~~

After security locked everyone back in their homes, Eliza and Amy sat together by the fire. Amy was sharpening her arrowheads and cleaning their mothers crossbow, and Eliza skimmed over her files, making sure everything was in order for the volunteers trip. Bones lazed across Eliza's feet making contented little growls as she rubbed at his shoulders. He was a really muscular dog, and her mama taught her that deep down most animals, people included, just wanted a deep massage. Bones seemed to agree with that sentiment.

Taking a deep breath, Eliza addressed the elephant in the room. "There's no need for you to volunteer. Besides, you aren't a great shot."

Amy didn't even look up from her arrowheads. "I want to go, L. I need to see the outside again, I'm sick of seeing the same thing every day. Besides. I'm not even a good shot. Right? So I'm expendable." Amy's tone held more than a hint of anger.

"You know I didn't mean it like that. It's just… with the guys missing and mom… gone. You're all I have left. I can't lose you too."

"I'll be fine."

"If you don't come back, I'll never know what happened. We won't have radio contact with the town. I couldn't bear not knowing what happened to you." Eliza took a deep breath. "Maybe I should go with you."

"What? L, are you kidding? You aren't cut out for this. And besides, there's no one around to take care of the towns precious library."

"There's step by step instructions on file for everything I do, everything I've done, the next steps for all my experiments… It makes sense, actually. Anyone can upload these files." Eliza gestured to the old laptop, "But if I go we'd have Bones, and I could probably troubleshoot any problems faster than anyone else we send."

Amy grinned, setting down her weapons and taking Eliza's hands. "So we'll go down together. It'll be an adventure!"

Amy was ecstatic and proud. Eliza really wanted to soak up those emotions. Instead, she just felt sick.


	3. I Remember When I Used To Be Nostalgic

"Are you sure this is where Citizen Z told us to go? It doesn't seem like a safe haven to me." Addy glanced at the houses, all empty, nothing but a few straggler Zs in sight.

"Apparently everyone who left this area regretted it. They've got some village or something that's withstood nearly the entire apocalypse. Some 50 people and only 2 or 3 fatalities as of last year." Warren shrugged. "But you're right, it seems pretty dead. Maybe we're in the wrong place"

10K looked through his scope at the straggler Z's. No one he recognized. Thank god. He didn't know how well he could grant mercy to someone he knew. It didn't go too well the last time. He hoped he could just point them out and one of the others would take care of it. As he scoped out the area, he caught sight of the high school and nearly choked. The nostalgia hit him like a train.

~~~

High school is a horrible thing to do to a kid. Tommy hated it. It wasn't like anything he learned there mattered anyway, he knew how to shoot. How to butcher an animal. How to use the sky as a map. That could keep him from being hungry or lost. What did the Pythagorean theorem do for him? Nothing.

A tall, broad student slammed into Tommy's shoulder, throwing him off balance before he righted himself. "Hey Kallevik! Did your hick dad get a job yet? No wonder your mom's sick, when all she eats is fucking squirrel." The student towered over Tommy, a sneer on his face and malice in his eyes.

Tommy never responded, he usually just stared. It made the student angry, but Tommy couldn't understand why.

"Yo, moron!" The boy was in his face now. His pa always said not to waste fists on a yuppie, but clearly this guy didn't realise he wasn't in New York anymore. "I'm talking to you, hick!"

There was a girl behind Collins now. She looked angry. Tommy didn't know why she was angry either.

"Hey! Why don't you leave well enough alone, Collins. He didn't do anything to you." Her voice was oddly familiar, but Tommy couldn't place it.

"His face did something to me."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at that, and then Collins was livid.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm not a fag just because I have culture, unlike you hillbillys." Collins scowled, and pushed Tommy towards the lockers, hard.

"Just because we live off the land, and you swipe credit cards doesn't mean you're better, bud." Her voce dripped with so much disgust that for a moment, Tommy actually thought she might puke.  
He hoped she would puke right on Collins polo shirt, if she did.  
Tommy bit back a chuckle, and Collins whirled around to face the girl.

"Did I ask, you stupid savage?" He took two quick steps towards her as he raised his fist, and Tommy reacted without thinking. He wrapped an arm around the guys throat and gripped like a vice for a few seconds before he let him go, putting himself between Collins and the girl.

Collins swung wildly, face red and mouth spewing words Tommy had never heard before. He ducked, but before he could retaliate the girl threw a mean jab at the boys throat and knocked him back a few steps.

There wasn't any time to soak in their small victory as two of Collins football buddies appeared around the corner.

Tommy squared up, but the girl grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the hall and around the corner.

She looked back at him, and for the first time, he got a good look at her.

She was beautiful.

Her raven hair was tied in two thick braids that seemed to float down her back. Was it made of silk? It was so shiny and clean. He had never wanted to touch hair before. He would really like to touch hers.

A grin split her face, and he noticed the scar running down the side of her lips. Her eyes sparkled with laughter and mischief, and he realised they aren't brown, as they seem at first glance, but a dark, deep blue. He hadn't met too many native people before, and he was sure he had never met anyone so pretty.

"C'mon Tommy, we better take the stairs. I'm thinking we hide out on the roof."

As she swung the stairwell door open, he realised she's still holding his wrist. Did she know she's still holding his wrist? He thought maybe she'd forgotten, and it would probably be rude to wriggle out of her grasp. That's the only reason he won't say anything.

They scrambled up the stairs, and the warmth from her hand crawled all the way up his shoulder. Just as he started to get used to the feeling, they reached the top of the stairs and she let go.

He was definitely not disappointed. He definitely didn't want to try holding her hand, instead of having her drag him around by his wrist. Not that he minded being drug around.

She dug around in her purse, pulling out a bump key with a skull shaped head and a screwdriver, which Tommy found surprising but he knew a girl that carried a lockpick set. Maybe that's why girls always carried such big purses. B&E supplies.

She got to work on the door to the roof as they heard the shrieking of an angry jock echoing through the stairwell.

There were three sets of feet stomping up the steps, but just as Collins and his thugs appeared around the corner, the girl pulled him onto the roof and slammed the door behind them.

"Jam the door!"

Tommy looked around the roof for something to block the door with. There was a folding metal chair lying on the ground and Tommy snatched it, pushing it under the door handle just as their pursuers started to bang on the door.

She sat down on the edge of the roof, which seemed dangerous, but also not his business. The ends of her braids nearly touched the roof, but she seemed to care less about that and more about letting the evening sun warm her upturned face. She looked even better in the sun than under the dim high school fluorescents.  
"You just gonna watch me all day?" She stuck her tongue out at him and patted the space beside her.

He looked around nervously, like he thought it might be a trap.

"C'mon. I haven't seen you in a year, let's catch up."

His world spun for a second.

"What?"

"Oh my god. Did you… forget me? Seriously?"

Tommy squinted, blurring her. He tilted his head, until all he saw was a native girl with two braids and a weird facial expression.

"Eliza?"

"Yeah, you goon."

All the saliva in his mouth dried up instantly. This couldn't be Eliza. Eliza who was 4'11. Eliza who always had her nose in a book or her hands in a garden. Eliza who he had known since he was three. Eliza who his mom always liked to remind that they used to bathe together when they were little. Eliza who always laughed it off while Tommy had wished the ground would swallow him whole. He would have recognised his best friend.

His best friend who he hadn't seen in a over a year.

"Um. Hey." He sat down beside her, trying to calm the bright blush on his face. Did he think Eliza was pretty? He was pretty sure that wasn't allowed.

"Hey yourself. I guess the growth spurt I hit was more dramatic than I thought, eh?"

"Definitely dramatic."

"Was that a shot?" Eliza laughed, and Tommy wasn't sure how he could have mistaken her for anyone else.

"Pew pew." Tommy made finger guns, which Eliza seemed to think was hilarious. Her giggle only made him blush harder.

"New Zealand wasn't even that great. It would've been way better with you there." Eliza brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

She leaned into him, mumbling about her trip. About the year she spent away. About how much she had missed him.

Already, they had fallen back into their old routine. If Eliza noticed how awkward he was, she didn't show it. That was why Eliza was his best friend. She never expected him to respond, she just-

Collins and his snarling thugs burst through the door, their flesh rotted and green. They ignored Tommy and went straight for Eliza, ripping her flesh out until she turned. She scrambled towards him and-

~

"10K! What are you, asleep? You're supposed to be watching!"

10K snapped back to reality, thankful Garnet had shot the approaching Z from the passenger side.

"Sorry." 10K grumbled. He hated thinking about the past. If it weren't for Garnet, dwelling on the past could've gotten them killed.

He set his rifle up, and resolved never to think about Eliza again.

Besides, she was dead.

~~~

Eliza's bag was packed, everything she would need to start her own small community. She tightened Bones' service dog vest so it was snug and he seemed none too happy about it. Amy rolled her eyes.

"What? We don't know how long we could be down there! Or we might run into some other survivors who need help. Anything could happen!" Amy just snickered at Eliza and kept sharpening her arrowheads. Eliza groaned. "Besides, you are way too excited for this. What are you even packing?"

Amy winked, disappearing into the other room before coming back out in her "combat" outfit. Her curly hair was in tight buns up on her head, her knee pads, elbow pads, and steel toed combat boots all had spikes welded to them, and the t-shirt under her leather jacket said "bite me".

"Wow, Leggings, really? If i were a zombie I would just-" Eliza chomped at Amy's legs, and they giggled.

"Thanks judgey judgerson. What are you wearing?"

"Um… jeans? The comfy ones, that… stretch."

Amy raised an eyebrow.

"What? I'm not trying to look cute for some Zs. Unlike some people, miss _bite me_ "

Amy pushes Eliza off her chair, smiling.

"Wow. Rude! I could have died."

The anticipation stayed in their bones all night, until security let them out of their room the next morning.

~

The journey to the ground only took a few hours on the old ski paths. There were occasional mines but they're clearly marked and easy to avoid, meant for disabling zombies, not for injuring survivors. Eliza exercised pretty regularly, but she was already getting tired. She couldn't imagine how people did that sort of thing without regular water and food. It made her wonder how many survivors could be left, after hearing from the newcomers to the camp that no one farmed, and how starvation had killed more people than zombies. At the end of the trail at the entrance to the nearby town, Eliza hung her re-painted sign, along with a new one that had a big arrow pointing up the ski hill and said "Z traps! Be careful!" Eliza smiled at her handiwork. Hopefully this would make it a little easier for survivors to find their safe haven.

When the team neared Ridgewynd the other volunteers scouted ahead, with one staying to guard Amy and Eliza while they hid out in the old restaurant, trying to contact the Citizen Z guy. The files all uploaded easily to Eliza's old google drive account. They used say google has no privacy. That the government had access to it. Eliza titles the file 'For NSA' and adds the subject, "Dear citizen Z, important info enclosed. Please spread." Hopefully those people were right about google.

"Oh my god. Amy. Look at this."

Amy leans down, not lowering her crossbow. "Is that?"

"Yeah. All our assignments from grade 10. That feels like forever ago."

"God, I hated you so much back then. You were so pretentious and loud." She sighed wistfully. "You know, the apocalypse sucks and all, but… it brought us back together. Silver lining."

Eliza smiled up at Amy, but stopped when she heard Bones snarl at the door. Eliza and Amy looked up just in time to see a Z zip out their guards throat.


	4. She Never Took Baton Classes

"Puppies and kittens!" 10k already had three headshots and was aiming for a fourth when Warren let out a warning.

XX

Eliza scrambled to get her laptop back in her bag. Amy shot the zombie in the leg, but the bolt didn't even slow him down, Amy reloaded and shot him in the chest. Bones bolted towards the door, and Eliza couldn't find it in her heart to blame the pup. She would have escaped if she could have. No hard feelings.

 _It's not like I saved your life, bottle fed you and raised you,_ ** _during_** **_an apocalypse_** _you little shit._ She thought. Okay, maybe one or two hard feelings.

XX

Doc swung his crowbar, hitting a Z in the neck. He yanked the crowbar but it instead of pulling it out of the Z he just swung the Z to the side. Doc threw his whole weight into swinging the Z into the ground towards a rock and the snarling came to a _dead_ stop. Doc looked over at 10k "That was pretty cool, right?"

10k glanced over from behind his slingshot and shrugged, but Doc caught the smile that twitched at his lips.

XX

Eliza was frozen, Amy grabbed her and dragged her to the break room, slamming the door and locking it behind them. "Get your bat L, Jesus christ! You could've killed us out there!"

"I can't do this without Bones. Let's go home. I can't do this." Amy's hand was gentle on Eliza's cheek as she tilted her face to meet Amy's gaze. Her soft brown eyes pulled Eliza out of her thoughts.

"Just swing at the heads. Like we practiced. Breathe. You can do this." Amy patted Eliza's cheek twice, hard, and the pain helped pull her into focus. Amy unlatched Eliza's modded cricket bat and handed it to her. She adjusted the grip on her bat, focusing on the weight in her hands. The feel of aluminum in her palms. She could do this.

XX

Murphy hid in the truck, shaking as the zombies charged. There weren't too many by the gas station left now, maybe seven, and they weren't particularly smart. 10k was doing a pretty good job with his slingshot, and the team had picked off quite a few Z's.

XX

The two zombies reached the door easily. Amy piked one through the door window, she was quick and steady, but the window shattered anyway. She grimaced, and piked the ex-volunteer as he tried to crawl towards them over his fallen brethren.

Eliza gulped, adjusting her grip on her bat. She could do this. Probably.

She opened the door and saw Bones, wagging his tail, and standing over two more Z volunteers from their camp. They were re-deaded, hadn't even made it past the entrance.

Eliza smiled, eyes wet. "You are literally the _best_ boy."

XX

Addy took an aggressive approach and ran forward with her Z-whacker. She smashed one in the head, quickly ripping out the bat and spinning the weapon into another skull, her hair twirling around her like a dancer. Cassandra couldn't resist watching her, she made bloodshed look so, so, beautiful.

XX

They heard the rumble of a truck at the same time.

"That's coming from the gas station! We can make it, it's only a few blocks."

As they left the diner, Eliza didn't share the enthusiasm. There were too many Zs between them and the gas station, and no other volunteers to be seen.

XX

Mack sprinted from the convenience store to the truck, hauling bags of food. They didn't usually get this lucky. When he saw the oncoming group of Z's he thought maybe they didn't get lucky this time either.

"That's too many to mercy." 10k set his rifle on the tailgate, eyeing the hoarde of Z's that were kicking up dust on its way toward the gas station. He checked his pocket for slingshot ammo. He had enough rocks to get a few at close range, but he wasn't going to waste bullets he didn't have to. Mack jumped into the back, grabbing a gun to cover as the others ran back to the truck. They were all filled up. They had food and water, which is why they had come out. No reason to stay here. 10k felt… off about leaving so soon. He shook his head, as if the feeling that he was missing something would fly out his ears.

He readjusted his scope. No more memories.

XX

Eliza was surprisingly good at running. Must be all the practice she had running away from her problems. The cricket felt strange in her hands. She had practiced with it, but it wasn't the same as killing ex-living beings.

As a zombie charged towards her, Eliza tried to keep a clear head. Zombies are dumb. They shouldn't be hard to outsmart. She had spent years outsmarting idiots and running. She could do that.

Amy took aim, hitting her own Z in the head. Eliza ran at the charging Z, ducking at the last minute and letting it trip over her, momentum sending it tumbling. Bones took a moment to rip a chunk out of his face before loping after Eliza, tongue hanging out. It was almost unnerving how much he loved carnage. She avoided more Z's only swinging at 2 or 3 probably only re-deading one. Killing every Z in the way wasn't realistic for her skill level. Eyes on the prize. She had to get to that gas station.

XX

Addy ran towards the truck, jumping off the tire and swinging herself into the box. "There are way to many Z's, let's go." Everyone was back in the truck. There was no reason to wait.

10k took aim with his slingshot and hit Addy's pursuer between the eyes. "Almost."

"What? 10k, we need to go." Garnett looked around, confused. "What are we waiting for?"

10k searched through the zombies in the oncoming hoard. If he could grant her mercy, he could sleep. The only thing worse than killing family was letting them un-live forever. He couldn't abandon her again.

He gritted his teeth. "Just wait."

XX

Looking behind them as they rounded the corner, Amy and Eliza were fucked. The zombies were gaining, and they weren't even half way to the gas station.

Eliza was starting to panic. Her breathing was getting shallow. She was going to faint. She was going to die. She wasn't even going to die properly. Oh god everything she worked for was pointless. She was never going to see anyone she loved ever again. She was never going to see the sky again, or those buildings, or those bikes.

Eliza blinked, those bikes with full tires and rust-free chains that could probably carry them away a lot faster than on foot.

"Bikes!" Eliza shrieked, whooping. Amy shot down another Z, before turning and grinning at the sight of their escape.

"And you thought leaving the mountain would kill us. Ha!" Amy double checked the chain as they hopped on their new rides, rounding the corner to the gas station.

XX

"Alright, we're moving out. No more waiting." Warren started the truck and put it into gear.

10k nodded, but Addy saw the desperation in his face. He kept his eyes on the road as they pulled back onto the highway.

They barely heard the faded ring as the truck pulled forward.

"Was that... a bike bell?" Mack cocked his head in concentration.

Addy banged on the truck. "Warren, stop!"

"Jesus Christ are you serious? There is a horde on its way, people!"

They saw two bikes round the corner, just ahead of the Z's.

They were too far back to see clearly, but as the truck slowed down Addy could make out two dark haired girls, pedaling for their lives.

10k fumbled with his gun, and his hands were shaking. Addy had never seen 10k's hands shake before.

He looked through his scope and took a sharp breath.

"Warren, please. I know them." He sounded so broken.

"Fuck this." Addy jumped off the tailgate with her Z-whacker. She was a sucker for damsels in distress.


	5. Getting A Leg Up

Amy turned towards the Z's that were steadily falling behind. "We're gonna make it!" She whooped and blew a raspberry at the Z's. She missed seeing the bone laying on the road. Unfortunately, she didn't miss it with her bike.

Her front tire twisted sideways and the sudden lurch sent her sprawling across the gravel road. They didn't have much of a lead on the horde, and one of the newly turned volunteers was already on her.

Eliza was already spiralling. Why did Amy always have to jinx everything. They should have never left the restaurant. They should have never left the mountain! Two years before comfort ended. Probably 10 years before survival became an issue. Who gives a shit about other people, they're going to die out on the shitty Hart Highway with their hearts eaten.

 _Amy wouldn't panic if I was in danger._ "Goddamn apocalypse." Eliza spit and slowed down, kicking up dust as her bike skidded away.

"Get away from my sister!" The Zombie startled, it's head up and away from Amy. A clear shot. Easy.

Eliza swung hard, but instead of a satisfying crack there was just a thump as her baton bounced off the Z's head. No follow through, no upper arm strength, no surprise it didn't work. The Z was only barely thrown off Amy.

She shifted her weight and booted the Z in the head, and that was the wrong move. The newly turned Z was fast, grabbing her by the ankle and throwing her to the ground, her head bouncing off the pavement with a sickening thud.

So hungry. He was always hungry. So much meat. More meat than he had ever smelled. Still hungry. Always hungry. The blood dripped down his jaw, flesh chunks got stuck between his teeth and he relished in the carnage. But he was still hungry. Hungrier than before.

He heard a sound. The call. He was needed. It mattered most. More than even hunger. He was faster now. Stronger. The hunger pushed him forward. Past the carnage. Past the meat. Past the death and across the dirt until he caught the scent.

It smelled like love. And fear. He would kill every dead thing until he couldn't smell fear.

Only love.

Then he would feast.

 _It seems like no matter how many times I get up, I get knocked right back down again. Always._ Eliza's thoughts only made her dizzier. Why was she even here? What was she doing? How did she even plan to make it out of this? Eliza always had a plan. She didn't know how to function without a plan.

Eliza laid on the ground, wind knocked out of her, as the Z tore through her jeans. The reverberations of the teeth sent shocks up her spine until it snapped her into focus.

Amy.

She had to help Amy.

The baton was lying in the dust within reach. She wrapped her fingers around the handle and lined up the thin end with the Z. She pitched her arms forward and thrust.

The squelch was satisfying. But when she looked down it was clear she wouldn't be putting much weight on that leg for a while.

She leaned her head back down on the ground, looking back at the horde. There was half a dozen getting too close. Bones was who-knows where, Amy wasn't moving, and Eliza was tired.

Still. She was Elizabeth Kaiyoht, and Kaiyoht's don't quit.

She put her fingers to her mouth and let out a high whistle. It would attract every Z in sight, but it might bring Bones back. Let her see her baby again.

Eliza sat up, scooching towards Amy and her crossbow.

Picking it up she leveled the crossbow at the horde. There were upwards of 30 zombies. She didn't even have 30 bolts. She aimed. Fired. Missed. Re-Loaded. Aimed. Fired. Missed. Reloaded. She was so focused on the half dozen fast Z's getting close that she didn't notice the Z slowly making ground towards her from the ditch.

Elia turned towards the Z just in time to see a red-head smash the brain right out of the sneaky zombie's skull.

Blood flew across the gravel, creating a beautiful contrast to the pink sunset.

"Hey. I'm the calvary, but you can call me Addy."

She heard the distinct crack of a bullet and another Z fell. In what seemed like half a moment the close Z's were all down, and the red head turned towards Eliza, hand outstretched.

"You looked like you could use some help." Her chest heaved and her cheeks were flecked with blood, and Eliza wanted nothing more than to take her hand and be carried to safety.

"Thanks." Eliza smiled back. "But that's more important." Eliza pointed towards her pack, lying beside their discarded bikes. "There's instructions in the bag, and a laptop. You need to get those files to whoever is left. Survivors, government, anyone." The Z's were getting close now.

Addy shook her head. "Your life is more important than-"

Eliza's voice was clear and firm as she aimed her crossbow to fire at another Z. She missed. "I can't walk. Take the pack. I can die believing I made a difference."

Addy only hesitated for another second before grabbing the bag and sprinting back towards her truck.

Eliza's vision faded in and out, the blow to the concrete finally sinking in as she accepted her fate. Her next shot hit a Z in the chest instead of missing entirely. She was really just wasting ammo at this point.

"Gimme that crossbow, your aim is worse than Jerrico's."

Eliza jumped, sending a bolt flying upwards and straight into a zombie skull. That makes two kills with the crossbow. She _really_ needed to work on that.

She laughed, and Amy pulled the bow from her grip, taking three shots, knocking down three zombies.

"Wow. I guess that nap really rejuvenated your aim." Eliza chuckled, and Amy frowned.

"Get up! We need to get the fuck out of here." Amy tugged Eliza but she didn't budge.

Eliza shrugged. "My leg's busted. You could probably catch up to that truck."

Amy sighed, grabbing Eliza under her arm and throwing her over her shoulder in a fireman carry. "I'm not leaving you. I'd go to hell for sure."

It was shocking how sturdy Amy was, she wasn't even breathing hard. She started sprinting down the highway and Eliza, even in her concussed state, was pretty sure she was running a lot faster than she used to. And she only got faster. Eliza chanced a look back at the horde. They had fallen back quite a ways, and Eliza wasn't sure if it was Amy's new super speed or the flashes of brown and grey that kept whizzing by the zombies, knocking them down.

Eliza tilted her head so everything wasn't so upside down.

"Bones! Bones baby come here!" Eliza murmured into Amy's jacket. Her head lolling back down as the dizziness started to overtake her.

Amy groaned. "Even when I'm fucking dying I have to do everything. God you're useless L, you better work on that shit." She let out a wolf whistle that cracked Eliza's ears open and shocked away some of the dizziness. She was pretty sure she could feel her brains leaking out her ears.

10k put a dent in the tailgate when he saw Addy run back with Eliza's supplies, leaving her to fend for herself against a horde.

"She wouldn't leave her if there was another option, your friend probably got bitten or something." Mack looked uneasy at 10k's burst of anger. It probably wasn't an emotion any of them had ever seen on him.

"Can we hurry this along? It's just some girl. We'll find him another one."

10k turned his rifle on Murphy, "I will kill you where you stand."

Murphy shrugged. "Too bad I'm sitting."

"Hey! That other girl got up." Cassandra pointed back towards the road and 10k turned to see all three girls hustling to the truck.

He was surprised at Amy's steady sprint, he remembered Eliza being the fast one. She caught up to Addy in no time, and Warren hit the breaks as they got close. "Let's hustle ladies, we don't have all day."

Amy heaves Eliza towards 10k, and he wasn't expecting it. He drops his gun and catches her, but not fast enough to stop her head from clanging against the truck bed.

"Wow. I see you're still a fuckin' moron." Amy rolls her eyes, but she's grinning as she gets into the truck.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting- I didn't think you would-" 10k is already turning red.

"Shut it, chatty cathy. Make sure she isn't dead." She points at Eliza and raises her eyebrows, before 10k quickly complies.

A couple of the others exchange surprise looks at 10k being referred to as a chatty cathy.

As 10k checked the nearly unconscious girl for wounds Mack turned his gun on Eliza. "She's bit! Look at her leg!"

Amy snatched Mack's gun out of his hand before he could blink.

"It's her left." Amy and 10k said in unison.

In the front seat, Garnet looked exasperated. "What?"

Amy leaned over and pulls Eliza's pant leg up to her knee and there is a chorus of "Oh"s and one "Ugh" from Murphy. "Her left leg is prosthetic. The Z damaged it, she'll need to replace the elastic to bear weight on it again properly."

10k pat the carbon fiber leg appreciatively. "So cool."

"If you're done groping my unconscious sister?" Amy crossed her arms.

10k's hands were in the air so fast one would think he _had_ been groping an unconcious girl.

Addy looked away from the sitcom and towards the road just in time to see a hulking creature vault over the tailgate and skid into the truck bed.

"What the _fuck_ is that?" Murphy's voice was a squeak as he eyed the 200lb monstrosity pawing at Eliza's chest and licking her face.

"What, you ain't seen a dog before?" Amy chuckled.

Doc turned towards them from the backseat to talk through the window. "That's no dog, that's a goddamn behemoth!"

"His name is Bones." Amy smirked. "Because that's all he leaves of his enemies." She reached over to give the dog a scratch behind the ears. But instead of leaning into the touch he turned towards her and growled, and there were three weapons pointed at him instantly.

"Damn you people are jumpy. He's just worried about Eliza." Amy turned to 10k, as they hesitantly lowered their weapons. "Speaking of, aren't you going to introduce us? I know your mama taught you manners so put 'em to use."

10k cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable being the center of attention. "This is Amy and Elizabeth Kaiyoht. We grew up together. Eliza and I were in the same class, and, uh… That's it." 10k shrugged. "Oh yeah, and this is Doc, Cassandra, Mack and Addy, Murphy, Garnet and Warren." He pointed them all out.

Amy nodded at each name, and shook Addy's hand. "Thanks for the assist. We would've been road _killed_ if it wasn't for you."

Addy chuckled and Amy hummed appreciatively.

"So what are y'all doing way up in Ridgewynd, anyway?"

10k jumped in, eager to make up for his earlier mistake. "We're taking Murphy to a CDC lab in California to save the world and stuff."

Amy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Well, good luck with that." She peeled off her boots and her jacket, putting them with Eliza's bag. Bones growled when Amy's hand got near Eliza.

Amy sidled up on the other side of 10k. The others, in a perpetual state of exhaustion, had largely moved on from paying them any attention.

"Are these good people?" Amy's voice was barely a whisper as she leaned towards 10k.

"Yeah. The best."

"Good." Amy's smile was bittersweet. "She needs work on her aim. Are you still a crackshot?"

10k shrugged. "I'm a better shot than I was three years ago."

Amy whistled and Bones ears perked up for a moment before settling back down.

"Teach her. She's shit." Amy seemed to shudder, and she coughed into her elbow. 10k thought he saw blood before she wiped it away. "You broke her heart, you know that? She'll probably never mention it, but I never saw her as crushed as when you- Anyway. That doesn't matter now." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Silver lining I guess, the apocalypse is full of second chances. We got one, me and L. I love her so much, you know? Even if she is a dumbass" Amy smiled.

"Are you okay?" 10k met Amy's eyes. She sounded weird. Final. 10k had known Amy for a long time, and she had never been one to philosophise.

"I will be."

Amy reached over 10k toward Eliza's bag and the dog moved slowly towards her, a low rumble in his throat. A warning. Bones had never growled at Amy before, now she could see why the people at their camp had been so scared of him. He was fucking _menacing_. Amy opened up the bag and reached her hand in, and she felt Bones teeth around her shoulder, so light it was hardly noticeable. He tightened slightly when she leaned towards Eliza.

"Does your dog always do that?" Addy questioned, looking at the scene warily from across the truck.

"Nah. He's just protective." Amy's fingertips finally wrapped around what she was looking for and she pulled back. Bones let go and returned to his spot beside Eliza.

Amy pushed the syringe into a vein on her right arm, pulling the plunger and filling it with her blood. She handed the vial to an ashen 10k, who had finally put the pieces together.

"Take care of my sister, or I'll hunt you down and eat your brains." 10k couldn't remember Any ever crying. Not even when she fell out of a tree and broke her leg in the third grade, but he was pretty sure there were tears in the corner of Amy's eye.

10k's voice was low but steady. "Do you want... mercy?"

Amy grinned. "Fuck no. Don't you know who I am?" She stood up, facing the road. She could almost see the horde in the distance.

He finally spotted the bite, a tiny little indent on her collarbone that had been hidden by her jacket. It was hardly even a bite, maybe 3 or 4 tooth marks. "Kaiyoht's don't quit." 10k gulped, finishing the mantra.

Amy turned and winked at him, and then jumped off the back of the truck.

"What the hell is happening back there?" Warren eyed 10k from her mirror, but he didn't respond.

10k watched as Amy rolled, popping back up and ambling into the woods. He couldn't tell if she had turned yet. It seemed impossible she had stopped from turning for so long.

Addy piped up. "She had a bite mark. I don't think she wanted to risk infecting us."

Murphy huffed. "Good riddance. We have enough mouths to feed."

The others broke into aggressive conversation.

10k turned back to Eliza. Her eyes fluttered and she murmured under her breath, but she was alive. And safe. And right next to him.

10k rested his hand on her prosthetic leg, eyeing the dog warily, but Bones didn't even flinch.

"Eliza is going to kill me when she wakes up."


End file.
